Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property
Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property. Whoever dishonestly or fraudulently conceals or removes any property of himself or any other person, or dishonestly or fraudulently assists in the concealment or removal thereof, or dishonestly releases any demand or claim to which he is entitled, shall be punished with imprisonment of either descri The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Whoever dishonestly or fraudulently conceals or removes any property of himself or any other person, or dishonestly or fraudulently assists in the concealment or removal thereof, or dishonestly releases any demand or claim to which he is entitled, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Of mischief
Section 424, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 323 Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property Text carried over almost unchanged 97%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Karmveer Singh vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases involving allegations of misappropriation of funds by an employee entrusted with collection duties, the High Court will not exercise its discretionary jurisdiction under Section 482 CrPC to quash the FIR merely on the ground that the accused has filed a counter-complaint regarding a separate incident of theft. The serious nature of the allegations of criminal breach of trust, cheating, and misappropriation warrants investigation, and the High Court will not interfere with the FIR unless there are compelling grounds to do so.
On this section: Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property - applied to alleged concealment of collected funds
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Ashok Rai& ORS. vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Delayed lodging of FIR, particularly when the alleged occurrence was not witnessed by anyone, constitutes a sufficient ground for granting anticipatory bail to protect the accused from arrest, subject to reasonable bail conditions and surety requirements.
On this section: Dishonestly or fraudulently removing or concealing property - charge against the petitioners
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 424
What have the courts held on Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code?
Karmveer Singh vs State of Rajasthan (17 Aug 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property - applied to alleged concealment of collected funds. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2012 to 2017.
How do I find court cases under Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: IPC 424, section 424 IPC, section 424 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 424 punishment and ipc 424 in bns. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Karmveer Singh vs State of Rajasthan (17 Aug 2017).
What should I read with Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 323 (Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 424, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.